U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,017 to Taiji Fujiyama disclosed an umbrella cover Which is fixed to a top end of an umbrella shaft for covering an outer circumference of an umbrella cloth when the umbrella is closed, capable of keeping the umbrella cloth protected and waterproof for preventing dripping of rain water. However, such an umbrella cover still has the following defects:
1. When the water drain cap 23 of a closed umbrella is pulled downwardly to discharge rain water stored in the chamber 10 through the drain ports 20, the cap 23 should be depressed upwardly to re-close the drain ports 20. If forgetting to re-close the cap 23, the rain water may be accidentally drained from the umbrella tip to an umbrella user who grasps the umbrella handle when inverting a closed umbrella for facing the umbrella tip upwardly ready for an opening use, thereby possibly wetting or contaminating the user or the other objects.
2. An umbrella shaft fixing cylinder 9 formed as a cup-like structure should be provided at one end of the sliding cylinder 8 to guide drain water downwardly through the water drip passing port 16, thereby increasing installation complexity and production cost therefor.
3. The cap 23 is of a double cylinder structure having a cylindrical rib 24 projected at a central part thereof. As shown in his drawing FIGS. 12, 13, there is always stored with rain water in the cylindrical rib 24 like a "dead pool", easily growing bacteria or fungi or being easily mildewed to thereby influence environmental hygiene.
The present inventor has found the defects of the conventional umbrella cover and invented the present umbrella having rain-water collector for automatically closing its drain valve.